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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · cell · stock · shower · rash · squash · pop · pitcher

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stock — shares
  4. bulb — for light
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. stock — goods
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rash — a series
  13. shower — rain
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com